Siniguelas or Spanish Plums

Say hello to Sir Lancelot - our pet lion cub! Hey! He's an authentic lion imported from South Africa! Even if he was looking intently at the siniguelas, he will not bite :) All he does is sit around the sofa the whole day!

Ok, back to Siniguelas or Spanish plums :) This is a fruit which I don't think South Africans lions are familiar with. Since it is summer here, lots of summer fruits come out and Siniguelas is one of them. It is purplish green when unripe (like the photos shown here). It tastes a bit tart and sweetish at this state, the skin is taut and crunchy when you bite into it. This is sooo yummy eaten with a few grains of salt! It makes my mouth water just writing about this. I have heard before that this is the favorite fruit of singer Gary Valenciano.

The fruit turns either yellow or deep red when ripe. Then, it becomes sweet. Still yummy and oozing with juice with every bite. Beware the large seeds however. :)

The siniguelas is a small fruit, approximately one inch to one a half inches in length. It looks like this:



Why write about this fruit? Because this fruit is a part of my childhood summer memories of playing in the streets with the neighbors. Remember jackstone, hopscotch, and Chinese garter? And of course, munching on these Siniguelas (aren't they the perfect size for small kiddie hands?) dipped in salt...

Salad Greens with Orange Balsamic Dressing

My mother-in-law says that her son - my Hubby can "sleep on a bed of vegetables." (That's my translation from Chinese.) She meant this figuratively, of course. I found this to be true early in our marriage. Hubby can eat a meal without meat (you know, the usual viand or ulam of chicken or beef or pork or fish...) Hubby can eat a meal even without rice (that is, if I serve him pasta, or noodles, or bread). Hubby can eat a meal without soup. But he will complain if I serve him a meal without vegetables. He just has to see greens on his table during meals.

I am happy our kids learned to eat veggies at an early age. And we didn't have to force them to learn. I think this came naturally as we have veggies on our table everyday.

Salad greens is a common veggie we have. We eat them raw, of course, drizzled with homemade dressings. Our current favorite green is lollo rosso lettuce. But sometimes, we have romaine. Depends on what's available fresh... Sometimes we add cucumber, onions, tomatoes. Sometimes we add fruits such as apples, or oranges or mangoes or grapes. The possibilities are endless. What is important is that I create a variety of flavors at every meal.


150 gms lettuce greens
a handful of grapes
a handful of cherry tomatoes
an orange, peeled, segmented
1 white onion, sliced

Wash all of these very well, and drain all the water. Arrange on serving plates. Meanwhile, prepare the dressing.



Orange Balamic Dressing

1/8 t salt
1/4 c orange juice (I use freshly squeezed orange juice)
2 T Balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t olive oil
1/4 t pepper

Mix all the dressing ingredients well. Either by using a fork, or a hand mixer, or shake them in a clean bottle, etc. Drizzle over the salad greens or serve on the side.


This is a delicious, both sweet and tart dressing that is becoming our favorite. All natural and homemade with nutritious ingredients.


Sharing these healthy salad greens with FIC: Food in Color with your personal favorite color as this month's theme. Actually, this is the family's favorite food color - Green! FIC food event is launched by Sunshine Mom of Tongue Ticklers and hosted this month at Tasty Curry Leaf. Check out her blog first week of June for tasty and colorful dishes.


Also sharing these healthy salad greens with SWC - Cooking with Greens, hosted by Sowmya of Creative Saga. Check out her blog after June 6 for the round-up of healthy and delicious green dishes. As Sowmya had said, it is very important that we have our cup of greens daily. I know this dish is not exactly cooked. But greens are better served raw! Then you will be able to get the full benefits of the nutrients present in green food.

Pan-Seared Fish with Capers and Lemon Cream Sauce

This is one of those dishes that sound sophisticated but is actually very easy to prepare. And I promise it tastes great, too! The recipe is also quite versatile as you can use any kind of white fish,whether filleted or not : halibut, dory, tilapia, snapper etc. And you can even substitute filleted chicken breasts or chicken tenders. This is so delicious with rice, and you can even serve this with pasta. A recipe so versatile and delicious such as this is definitely a keeper.


600 gms fish fillets, both sides sprinkled with
salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
flour, enough to slightly cover both sides of fillets

juice from 1 lemon (save a slice or two for garnish)
1/2 C dry white wine
1/4 C heavy cream (or sour cream or plain yogurt, whatever you have on hand)
3 T capers (drained)
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
4 T minced garlic
1/2 onion, minced


1. In a wok or skillet, heat up the olive oil and butter until butter melts. Turn up the heat and brown or sear the fish fillet on one side. Turn the fish over to sear the other side.

2. Add in the garlic and onions. The pour in the white wine and the juice of one lemon. (You can add 1/4 C water if you prefer more sauce). When the sauce boils, let simmer in low fire for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add in the capers and cream. Mix the sauce well. Let boil, lower heat until fish is cooked (This will take only a minute or two.) Serve immediately.


All these effort took less than 30 minutes of preparation and cooking. The result? A very tasty and flavorful dish we ate with fragrant jasmine rice. This is so delicious the kids had second helping of rice. :) Daughter said she thought the fish was baked because of the melt-in-the mouth texture.



Sharing this dish with the Weekend Wokking community, headed and hosted this month by Wandering Chopsticks. The featured ingredient for the month is Lemon! Check out her blog first week of June for the round-up of delicious sweet and savory lemon dishes. To see the previous round-ups of different ways to cook an ingredient, please click here.

Easy Peasy Apple Crumble

Maybe you are laughing at the picture. How can I present a dish (in this case, a dessert) to you on paper plate??? Here's the story...


My daughter has just graduated from elementary school (primary school) recently. (Ahem, as a proud mother, allow me to brag a little here, she graduated top 10 of her batch, awarded with excellent star medal. To God be the glory!!!) Her honors class celebrated their milestone by having a swimming party!

And this easy-to-prepare dessert was what she requested me to bake as her contribution to their potluck. Of course I had to prepare the crumble in several big trays. (Please see pictures below.) I was not able to cut a slice for my blog picture. The picture above was taken by my daughter during their party. (Isn't it sweet of my daughter to do this even while enjoying her party?) And well, the only plates available at the party were paper plates! :)





6 large apples, cored, sliced
1/2 C water
1/3 C sugar
dash of cinnamon

2 C all-purpose flour
1 C quick cooking oats
1 C butter, softened, or at room temperature
2/3 C sugar


1. In a large microwavable bowl, mix the water, sugar and cinnamon. Add in the sliced apples. Microwave for 3 -4 minutes on high.

2. Arrange the cooked apples on the tray. Add in the sugar-cinnamon liquid. (See the photo above.)

3. Mix the flour, oats, and sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Top the apples with the flour-oats mixture, making sure that all the pieces are covered. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in a 375 F preheated oven or until top is lightly browned.

5. Serve warm, with ice cream, if preferred.


You can halve the recipe for a family-sized serving. But this is so yummy, a whole tray will be gone in no time. :)




Sharing this apple dessert with the Regional Recipes community, headed by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This month features American food. And well, in this part of the world, anything that has got to do with apples is considered American... ha ha ha!!! This month's hosts are TS and JS of Eating Club Vancouver. Please check out their blog after the 15th of April to see delicious American dishes.

Chicken and Mangoes in Coconut Cream (Ginataang Manok at Mangga)

Joan of Foodalogue is taking a virtual culinary tour around the world, tasting each country's cuisine, learning a little bit of different cultures. All these to raise awareness about hunger in the world for BloggerAid. This week, our tour's destination is the Philippines!

Welcome, everyone, to this beautiful Pearl of the Orient! This is the land of warm white sands, clear blue waters. This is the land of Chocolate Hills, Rice Terraces, majestic waterfalls and rapids, the Palawan Underground River, and numerous seas where you can swim with dolphins and tortoises. This is the land of the world's smallest volcano (Taal) and the volcano with the most perfect cone (Mayon). We also have several of the best diving sites in the whole world.

This is also the land of the most resilient and patient people (we have to be, with the kind of government we have... ha ha ha!) The Filipinos are also known for their hospitality, and their kindness. Do you know that if you come and visit a Filipino home, you will surely be treated to a feast? Even if the family is not financially well-off, they will give you the best of what they have, they will make sure that you will be fed and fed, again and again... :) It is the culture. :)

I think I do not make a good travel writer :) Did I make you want to come and visit?


So, let's talk about food instead.

Philippine food is as diverse as its seven thousand and one hundred islands. Really! Each region, each locality always have their own version of a dish. And each dish is as tasty and delicious as the next one.

We have many delicious dishes to choose from. We have our famous sour tamarind soup (sinigang) , our fragrantly grilled (inihaw from charcoal) food, to roasted (whole) pigs (lechon) and chicken (inasal), to bopis (pig's lungs), dinuguan (pig's blood) and of course, our infamous balut (boiled fertilized duck eggs.) And this list barely scratched the surface yet... :)

I chose to feature a dish in mango and coconut cream (gata). As I have written in a post before, Philippine mangoes are really popular around the world. I may be biased, but a lot of people agree with me when I say (or rather write) that Philippine mangoes are the best in the world! Aside from mangoes, Philippines is also famous for its coconuts. We practically grew up drinking fresh coconut juice everyday! It is healthy and refreshing!

Coconut cream is different from coconut juice, though. The coconut juice is the water we get from young coconuts. The coconut cream is what we squeeze out/extracted from mature coconut meat. Nowadays, we have gadgets that extract the coconut cream from the meat, so we do not have to manually do the extraction at home. :)


1 kilo chicken, cleaned, chopped, skin removed
5 T canola oil
5 slices fresh ginger
4 T minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
2 T shrimp paste (bagoong)
3 pcs finger chillies (siling haba) whole or sliced, according to taste
1 can coconut cream
2 mangoes, deseeded, sliced
salt and pepper to taste


1. Heat up the cooking oil in a wok or skillet. Saute ginger until fragrant. Saute the onions until soft. Saute the garlic until fragrant.

2. Add in the shrimp paste. Stir for a while, then add in the chicken. Mix for a while until chicken changes color.

3. Add in the finger chillies, coconut cream. Cover and let cook for 15 to 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Do not overcook chicken as the meat will harden.

4. Add in the sliced mangoes, season to taste and serve warm.











Sharing this dish with the BloggerAid community's Culinary Tour Around the World over at Joan's Foodalogue. Please visit BloggerAid and help stamp out world hunger. And please visit Fooadalogue aroound March 25 to see the round-up of delicious Philippine dishes.

Mango Yogurt Parfait : Delicious Dessert or Diet Food?

We know summer is nearly here when you see lots and lots of deliciously sweet, and lusciously juicy mangoes in the market. The prices are cheaper, too. (By the way, summer here in this tropical country is from March to May.) Mangoes are my children's favorite fruit. And knowing this, my mom would always give us a couple of kilos of mangoes every week!

Do you know that the Philippines has the best tasting mangoes in the world? You have not tasted a real mango until you have tasted one produced here. I am not bragging. I am simply stating the truth. Even mangoes coming from a certain country south of America has to put "Manila Mangoes" on its label in order to sell. :) Copied but never equaled. So, you better read the fine print when you buy your mangoes.

Anyway, the real Manila mangoes are naturally sweet, and very fragrant. When choosing your mangoes, choose the ones with no blemishes or black marks. And smell the head (the one where the branch was broken off). That spot should be fragrant. If it is, the fruit will be sweet.

Because we have a lot of supply of mangoes, I have taken to eating the mangoes for breakfast. I simply add a healthy cup of yogurt, which is a good source of calcium and healthy bacteria that helps our digestive system and improve our body's immunity against disease. The delicious mango is packed with vitamins and minerals and anti-oxidants. It has very few calories, and fats, making it a very good diet food. It also replenishes salts, vitamins, minerals and energy after exercise.




This is my healthy breakfast -- diet food or delicious dessert??



The first picture of the mango parfait with my favorite rattan place mat is my entry to this month's CLICK photo event with wood as the theme. Do you agree that the rattan mat enhanced the tropical flavor of the mangoes? Please check out Jugalbandi's site for numerous drool-worthy, eye-catching, wonderful pictures and food.

Stir-fry Beef with Orange

I specifically planned this dish for Wandering Chopstick's Weekend Wokking event. The secret ingredient for the month is orange! It would be easy to create a sweet dish or dessert from lovely and sweet oranges. But for a change, I was thinking of creating a savory dish instead. I checked the internet and so far, I have seen pork and chicken dishes with orange. But not with beef.

So, you can say that this dish is my original creation, inspired by the recipes I have encountered on the net, of course. But I have modified the marinating and the cooking sauces.

When Hubby tasted this, he declared it the best beef stir fry he had ever tasted!

The meat is tender and oh-so juicy (because of the marinade), there is the wonderful fragrance of sweet orange, but it did not turn out to be an overly sweet dish. It has the right amount of salty and sweet with the spicy kick.




In fact, it is so delicious, I decided to contribute this dish to the BloggerAid Cookbook. So, if you are interested in the recipe, you have to purchase the Cookbook in November. It is for a good cause, by the way. The proceeds from the sale of the Cookbook will go to the World Food Program of the United Nations. You can read about all the details in the BloggerAid site. Do you know that you can have your recipe published as well? Just submit your original recipe, (you do not have to be a member of BloggerAid,) and you will see your name in the book! And for a good cause, too!


Sharing this dish with the Weekend Wokking community, a world-wide food event, launched and headed by Wandering Chopsticks, to celebrate the many different ways we can cook one ingredient. The ingredient for this month is Orange! This month's hosts are the creative sisters of Eating Club Vancouver. To see the past round-ups of different ingredients, please click here.

Apple Tart (Tarte Aux Pommes)

Here in Asia, when you say French cooking, it is either associated with wine as an ingredient in cooking, or the methodology is as complicated and as difficult as the dishes' pronunciation. :)

So, I set out to find recipes that have no wine, and very simple to prepare. As always, this blog would like to focus on easy-to-prepare recipes that are healthy; delicious and yet takes only a fraction of the time it would take to prepare complicated so-called-gourmet dishes. Another reason to find simple, fuzz-free recipe is that, admittedly, I do not have as much free time to experiment (like last year). :)


3 pcs apples, peeled, cored, sliced
3 T butter
1 T sugar

for the pastry, I halved the pate brisee recipe I used here.

1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 t salt
1/2 C cold butter
2 T cold water


1. Melt butter in the saucepan, add the sugar and apple slices. Simmer gently until softened.

2. For the pastry, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or a large tinned fork until mixture resembles a coarse sand. Sprinkle water evenly over the mixture and toss gently a few times until the dough holds together.

3. Roll the pastry out flat and put in a tart pan. Crimp the edges. Prick the dough with a fork.

4. Spread the apple slices on the pastry, reserving the syrup (from cooking the apples). Bake in a hot oven (400F) for about 20 to 30 minutes, until apples and dough are slightly golden brown.

5. Pour the remaining syrup from cooking the apples on to the tart and return to the oven for 5 minutes.





6. You can serve the tart on its own or with creme chantilly (whipped cream). Or with scoops of ice cream like what I did. :)


Result? A lovely and impressive dessert that is easy to make. The kids devoured it in no time. :)





Sharing this delicious dessert with the Regional Recipes community, headed by Darlene of Blazing Hot Wok. This month, featuring French dishes, is hosted by Susan of Open Mouth, Insert Fork. To see last month's delicious Thai dishes, please check out the round-up here.

Fruit Cake Bars

To start the year right, I offer you -- fruit cake bars -- these are sweet, so that you can always look forward to a good and nice and sweet year ahead. These are full of fruits, so that your year may be "fruitful" or bountiful. The taste is mellow, so that you may have a peaceful year ahead.

This recipe is far, far different from the traditional heavy and dense fruit cake. It tastes like fruit cake, with fruits soaked in liquor, but the texture is softer and lighter, and a bit crumbly and moist, just the way we like it. Daughter was crestfallen when she learned that I was giving most of the pieces away (boxed as Christmas gifts) to friends. But of course I made several batches and there were lots of leftovers :) for her to enjoy.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine.


1 C unsalted butter, room temperature
2 C all purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 C brandy
5 cups assorted dried fruits (I used raisins, dried mangoes, dried jackfruit, dried cranberries, dried apricots
2 C packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 t pure vanilla extract
confectioner's sugar, for dusting




1. In a saucepan, heat brandy until simmering. Remove from heat and stir in fruits. Cool to room temperature. Toss brandied fruits with 1 C flour.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.

4. With the mixer on low, add in the remaining 1 C flour, and salt. Mix until just combined. Fold in fruit mixture, transfer batter to prepared pan. Smooth top.

5. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 1 hour.

6. Using the paper overhang, lift out of the pan, transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

7. Remove paper. Dust with confectioner's sugar. Cut into squares with a serrated knife.





Dried fruits are the main feature of these cake bars. Drying the fruits preserves the fruits, even without refrigeration, thus prolonging their shelf life. However, I think many people enjoy dried fruits because of the flavor. Since they are dehydrated, the fruit flavor becomes more intense. Like fresh fruits, dried fruits still has their Vitamin B and mineral content. However, vitamin C is usually lost in the drying process.

You can actually use a variety of dried fruits, in any flavor and in any combination you prefer for your fruit cake bars. Just have a total of 5 cups of assorted fruits. At the beginning, I thought it was way too much, but it turned out just right. If you noticed, I added lots of dried mangoes and dried jackfruit. These two fruits added the tropical touch to my fruit cake bars. Philippines is of course famous for our dried mangoes. It is often brought as a pasalubong (welcome gift) to friends and families abroad.



Sharing these delightful fruit bars to the Weekend Herb Blogging community, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, but now headed by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once. This week's host is Pam from the Backyard Pizzeria. To see last week's delicious herbs and dishes, please see the round-up done by Haalo here.

Happy New Year! and my 200th Post - Strawberries in December

Happy New Year everyone!

This is such a happy coincidence!

My first post for the year and my 200th post! Wow! When I started this blog, I never thought I would reach this far. Thank you to all my friends, fellow food bloggers, and readers who make blogging very worthwhile! Thank you very much for your encouragements, inspirations and support. :) From the bottom of my heart.

Actually, I have come home for the New Year, but since my little family was not around during Christmas, we had to spend a lot of time with our extended families (aka grandparents) and friends. Plus, the catching-up work and things that I had to do... so I am able to return to the food blogging world only today. And I still have a lot of blog-reading to do! So, please forgive me if I have not visited your site yet. :)


Ooohh! I have lots of plans this year! More dishes and recipes to post! First up tomorrow is the Fruit Cake Bar that I made before we took our vacation. Watch out for that. :)

Then, I am also going to share some foodie experience we had on our vacation. I am not yet telling where we went. You have to stay tuned. :)

I am also looking forward to participating in the Cookbook that the BloggerAid community will be publishing. The proceeds from the sale of the cookbook will directly go to the World Food Programme of the United Nations! Now, isn't this a worthwhile cause to join in? Please do check out BloggerAid.


And now, for the strawberries... aren't these lovely?



Sorry, I did not remove the (2) dried leaves. I just wanted to show you how they looked when I received them. These lovely, fresh, and sweet strawberries were gifts from my friend and co-worker at Couples@Work Fellowship, J. Her family spent a few days in Baguio City (a city built on a plateau north of Manila, 7 hours away by car) and brought and shared these delicious treats with us.

Maybe you are wondering what's so special about these strawberries. You see, Philippines is a tropical country. We don't really have strawberries here, except in Baguio City (where everybody goes during summer). There at the mountain top, the weather is cooler, and more conducive to growing vegetables, flowers, and strawberries, of course!

Since we were kids, I remember we would only have fresh strawberries once a year, usually during summer (that's April or May), when somebody we know would go up to Baguio. But this time, we had strawberries in December! I didn't even know Baguio grows strawberries during December. (It is the coldest time of the year.) I thought strawberries are annual plants? But then, maybe modern plant productions have discovered how to grow them even when out of season.

Strawberries are good fruits. They are full of vitamin C and like all berries, contain flavonoids, which are important for their anti-oxidant properties.

Thanks J for our dose of fresh berries in December!



Submitting the first photo (topmost) to Click, a monthly food photography event by Jugalbandi. This month's theme is Red! Which for the Chinese, is a very appropriate auspicious color for the new year. This is the first time I am joining this photography event. I feel that I still have a lot to learn about food photography. The photo entry above was taken by my 12-year old daughter. I simply want to encourage her photography skills by entering her photo in the event. :)

Autumn Apple PorkChops : A FabulousFood.com Recipe

I know for most places on earth, apples are associated with autumn. So the scent and aroma of this fruit brings warm comfort during cooler days. But here in this tropical country, we do not have autumn season. Apples are always associated with the holiday season though, starting November and December. Markets and supermarkets would be brimming with bright red apples. And who can resist these juicy and crispy temptations?

I remember when I was a child, apples would be a real treat. Why? Apples do not really grow in a tropical country. At that time, importations of foreign goods and foods are limited. Imported goods like apples are quite expensive. Nowadays though, because of globalization and free trade policies, we have access to most products around the world. Our kids can enjoy apples, grapes, pears, etc., anytime they want. Does more choices mean progress? :)

Now, that would take a long discussion, so let us go back to the recipe. :)

Here is an interesting recipe I found at the FabulousFood.com site. This recipe sounded interesting as I have not tried cooking with apples before. It also looks so easy to do, and easy to prepare. Easy and healthy are synonymous with this kitchen.

I basically followed the original recipe, except that I left the porkchops brined overnight. My kids are quite picky about their pork chops. They want their meat super soft. I thought if we can brine turkey, I am sure we can brine pork chops, too! So I tried brining the meat first in salt and pepper solution. I also used a real apple, which I grated instead of using apple juice. Here's my retake on the recipe:

4 pcs pork chops, brined
1 T flour
2 T butter
1 onion, chopped
1 apple, skin removed, cored, grated
1/2 C water
2 T sugar, optional

1. Lightly flour the pork chops. Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet. Brown the chops on one side in the butter. Turn the chops to brown the other side.

2. Stir in the onions, grated apple, water and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes. Serve immediately.


Result? Tender juicy chops that the kids find interestingly delicious. It might not look colorful and pretty. But it is flavorful and fragrant.

Another discovery. We added chopped cilantro. What can I say? We just love cilantro! And we discovered that cilantro pairs beautifully with apples!






This is my entry to the FabulousFoods.com Cooking Club Challenge this month, featuring fall favorite recipes.

Banoffee Pie

Here is a slice of the yummy, sweetlicious banoffee pie my 4th and 5th sister made. Maybe they are not good in food photography, but they are better than I am when it comes to baking and making sweet desserts. That is because they are allowed to indulge while I am fighting the "bulge." Hee, hee, sorry, I could not resist the rhyme :)

Really, I also have a sweet tooth, just like almost everybody. But I have to resist these temptations because, well... I am not getting any younger, I have to start healthy eating habits if I still want to see my grandchildren. And I am confessing : I lack exercise!!! Yup! Guilty as charged! I have aerobic exercise, one hour once a week. And Hubby says that is not enough. I always tell Hubby, I do not have have time because of all the things I have to do. But then, time is a flimsy excuse, because I know with proper time management, I can easily insert an hour of exercise everyday. Hubby says if I exercise everyday, then I will be allowed to eat all the sweets I want. Now, I have a dilemma. Which is easier : to exercise or to restrain myself from sweets? :)

If I am eating from my kitchen, it would be easy to limit my intake of sweets. I simply do not buy or bake any sweets for myself. (My latest baking endeavor - NY Style Pumpkin Cheesecake I made went to my neighbor J). However, it is hard for me to resist the sweets that my sisters make and send over for me to taste!





According to sisters, it is very easy to make this no-bake pie in our own kitchens.

1. Make the dulce de leche first. Remove the label from a large can of condensed milk. Boil and simmer the whole unopened can covered in water for 3 hours. (To economize, you can boil several cans at the same time. And use the other cans for the next recipe requiring dulce de leche.) When you open this "boiled" can of condensed milk, it becomes the creamy dulce de leche!

2. Make the pie crust with crushed graham crackers mixed with melted butter. Press this mixture into the spring-form pan. Press it well and up to the sides.

3. Slice the sweet (lacatan) bananas and spread covering all of the graham crust. Drizzle some dulce de leche on the bananas. Add another layer of bananas, drizzle with dulce de leche again. Add more layers, as much bananas as you have or as high you want your pie to be.

4. Top with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Chill before serving.


I tell myself, bananas are good. Bananas are healthy. Bananas are rich in Vitamins B, Potassium and Magnesium. So, it convinces me to ease the guilt of eating a slice of this yummy Banoffee pie :)

Chicken (Tinola) in Watermelon Soup

"What's that? Blood?" That was my kids' reaction when I first laid this soup on the dining table. :) "Tomato Soup?" asked Hubby. Nope. It's watermelon soup.

Has anyone heard of watermelon soup? I have made one before with pork. It was refreshingly clean, and sweet and flavorful. It was very, very nice. Exceptional soup, actually. So, when I saw this Chicken Tinola in Watermelon soup in the Yummy Magazine (June 2008 issue), I knew, this is going to taste wonderful as well.

I am not sure if I followed the exact ingredients given in the recipe. I just remember that the magazine recommended processing the watermelon in the blender first. Being the lazy girl that I am, I did not do that. I knew the watermelon is already soft and can easily be mashed anyway.

The following is my version:

1 Kilo chicken pieces (I remove the skin, for healthy reason)
2 Kilos watermelon , seedless variety
3 T canola oil
3 slices fresh ginger
5 T minced garlic
2 T fish sauce (patis)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice the watermelon into manageable wedges. Set aside.

2. Heat up the oil in a wok or a heavy soup pan. Add in the ginger and saute until fragrant. Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant but not burnt.

3. Add in the chicken meat. Saute until the meat changes color.

4. Scrape all the watermelon meat (include the juices) into the pan with chicken. Discard the skin.

5. Mash the watermelon in the pan a bit. Let the whole soup boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Do not overcook the chicken or the meat is going to be tough.

6. Add in the fish sauce and slt and pepper to taste.

7. Serve hot with rice or a crusty bread.



Hubby declared this is the best, rich, hearty, flavorful soup he has ever tasted. You really have to try this soup! It is different, and you will not regret it!




Sharing this deliciously warm soup with the Bookmarked Recipes, hosted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. To see last week's round-up of deliciously Bookmarked Recipes, please click here.

Easy Strawberry Muffins

As I have mentioned before, I am less than an amateur baker. But since I love baked desserts, I have to try to learn baking as well. And because I do not have much confidence yet, I try to look for easy recipes. This is one of them.

The original recipe is for blueberry muffins. Actually, I forgot where I got the recipe from. It has long been tucked inside my to-do folder, so I do not remember. Besides, I have made so many changes, the following recipe does not sound like the original anymore. A courageous (or stupid?) move for someone with not much experience in baking. :)

I substituted the blueberries with strawberries. Because that is what I have in my pantry. No harm there. But I used canned strawberries instead of fresh! The original recipe asked for only 1 teaspoon baking powder for 2 cups of flour. But the instruction on my packet of baking powder says to use 1 teaspoon of baking powder for every cup of flour. Which instruction to follow? I followed the one in the packet. I wanted to make sure my cupcakes turn out fluffy and soft. Then, because I wanted the taste and flavor and scent of cinnamon and nutmeg, I added a generous sprinkling of cinnamon and nutmeg, even when the recipe did not call for it! Are these not harmless tweaks? :)

I was always instructed not to change any recipe in baked goods, because baking requires accuracy. But then, these cupcakes turned out pretty delicious! Pretty in pink, as well!



So, I am sharing these easy to prepare strawberry muffins with the Power of Pink, a Challenge by Jen of the Beantown Baker. October being the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are encouraged prepare dishes that are pink, in order to promote awareness of this disease. We should take a more proactive stand against breast cancer. Because this is a highly preventable and curable form of cancer. Do your own monthly self-examination, go through a mammography annually. Read up. Arm yourself with information regarding the disease, its nature, its prevention and cure. It is not to late to start now!



2 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 C fresh milk
2 T canola oil
1 large egg, beaten
1 C strawberries (canned)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat a non-stick 12-Cup large muffin pans with cooking spray or line with muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.

3. In another bowl, combine milk, canola oil and egg.

4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquid mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in half of the strawberries. Reserve 12 strawberries for topping.

5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, top with a strawberry per muffin and bake 20 minutes until golden. Cool on wire rack.



Is this not an easy recipe? No using of mixer, so one less equipment to clean up. You only need two bowls and a spatula. Sounds like a no-fail recipe, too! Perfect for amateur bakers like me who craves for fragrantly baked sweets sometimes.



This is also my inaugural participation to the Sugar High Fridays, with Dessert First doing her inaugural hosting for this "grande dame of online events for sweet-minded bloggers." This month's theme is perfect : Spices for Your Life. And the spices used in these cupcakes are the two spices I cannot get enough of : Cinammon and Nutmeg! Sugar High Fridays is headed by Jennifer, the Domestic Goddess. Check out the previous Sugar High Fridays round-ups here.

Weekend Wokking : Coconuts

It is Weekend Wokking time once again! This is a monthly food event launched by Wandering Chopsticks to celebrate different ways we can cook one ingredient. The ingredient of the month is something close to my heart - and to every Filipino's heart - the wonderful COCONUT! Do you know that the Philippines is the second largest coconut producer in the world? Thank you Marija for choosing the versatile coconut!


In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life." It its theorized that if you were to become stranded on a desert island populated by palm trees, you could survive purely on the tree and coconut alone, as the coconut provides all of the required natural properties for survival.

Nearly all the parts of a coconut tree is useful. The juice of the nut can be used for drinking. In fact, coconut water contains sugar, fiber, proteins, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. The water alone is a highly nutritious food source. The meat is edible - raw or cooked. The shell of the nut can be used to make musical instruments, or beautiful decorations, buttons or even jewelries! The husk and its fibers are used to make hemp ropes, or can be used for compost, or made into charcoal. The sap derived from the tree are made into wines (tuba). The heart of the palm is an edible delicacy. The leaves are cleaned and used to wrap food in cooking - broiling or steaming. They also provide materials for making baskets. Coconut oil is getting popularity as medicine. The roots were traditionally used as medicine as well. The trunks can be used as bridges, furnitures, or even buildings. Do you know we have a Coconut Palace here in Manila? It is an entire mansion made from coconut trees alone!

And I have only scratched the surface of the many uses of the coconut...


Anyway, since the coconut is quite abundant here. It is used in our daily cooking. Both the meat and the milk extracted are used - not just the main meals but for desserts as well. I am featuring two recipes using Coconut cream/milk for Weekend Wokking. For more information on Coconut milk and cream, please click on my first featured recipe the Maja Blanca Salad.

Maja Blanca Salad

Many Filipino desserts usually use the fresh coconut meat. We make our fruits salad with the meat. Or we add them to jellies. But this dessert uses coconut milk for a change. It is very easy to prepare. This dessert makes a good meal-ender. It satisfies our sweet-tooth without being cloyingly sweet.

Spicy Minced Pork with Long Beans

Many dishes are prepared using coconut cream/coconut milk. This dish is a simple but yummy example. Coconut cream/milk is quite versatile because we can add them to a variety of meat, fish, seafood and vegetables dishes. And the resulting dishes are quite flavorful because we usually add chillies and fish paste.



This is my entry to the Weekend Wokking event, featuring the Coconut. This month's host is Ivy of Precious Pea. Please check her cute, adorable site on Wednesday, Oct 1, for the round-up, and for the next secret ingredient. I am particularly excited for the next ingredient because next month's host will be... ME! Yay!

To see the previous round-ups and the different ways we cooked the other special ingredients, please check out the listing here.

Photography Practice 2 : Dalandan Plus a Tag

Dalandan is the Filipino name for Kahel oranges, one of the many varieties of oranges. It has a shiny bright green skin, even when ripe; and equally stunning bright orange pulp and juice. Dalandan now comes in seedless forms, so that is the kind I bought.

The kids love Dalandan juice. It is so easy to make, you do not need a juicer. Wash the whole dalandan first. Even if we are not eating the skin, I am particular about cleaning the fruits thoroughly. (I am conscious of the pesticides and other chemical sprays on the produce.) Cut the dalandan in half. Simply squeeze the dalandan with your clean hands into a pitcher. Double up the amount of juice with water. Add sugar and ice cubes. Enjoy!


Kitchen Flavors tagged me with 6 quirky things I do, so here they go. Just please do not laugh if you find my habits too wierd :)

1. The first thing I do when I wake up is to get my cel phone and text my textmates.

2. Before I go to sleep, I have to play Zuma (its an old game) on the computer. It makes me feel sleepy.

3. Like Kitchen Flavors, I also do not eat when Hubby is not home. Well, when I become too hungry, I do not cook, I just get biscuits or cookies... :)

4. I personally tutor my kids. Though they go to school, I always add my lessons. I tell their teachers not to give them assignments/homeworks anymmore because they already have lots of homework to do with me.

5. I always have to drink hot coffee (double cream, no sugar please) with my breakfast.

6. I cannot go out without powder on my face :)


I would love to tag everybody who reads my blog. Just link back here so I can read about your quirks too. :)

It is fun to play! It is also a great way for us to know more about each other!
Some tagging rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you - that's me.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the blogger's blogs letting them know they have been tagged.


Hmmm... I would love to tag a lot of bloggers,

Aaah! Let me go take a sip of this refreshing juice first... :)

Banana Crumble

Happy Birthday Grow Your Own!!! Grow Your Own is a foodie event, started by Andrea Meyers of Andrea's Recipes to celebrate the foods we grow or raise ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. This event is quite close to my heart primarily because I am a trying hard gardener, with no garden, (just pots of soil,) with not-so-green thumbs, but lots of love for anything green growing from the soil. Growing your own food is not only practical, and cost-saving, it ensures that your food is organic and fresh. With the added bonus of exercise and the proud contentment you feel when you serve (and eat) something you have grown yourself!



Such ugly bananas, you say!? Lest you mistake these for rotten ones (they are not!!) These are the real organic plantain bananas!! Many a knowledgeable housewives here in the Philippines would choose these bananas over the "regular" yellow ones. Bananas can only look pretty when they are sprayed with insecticides, so that no insects or birds will touch them. They are also sprayed with preservatives to maintain their deliciously beautiful bright yellow colors. These ugly (reminds me of the ugly duckling) bananas are super sweet and pretty on the inside, not like the bright yellow bananas which are oftentimes bland... which is another example of the common cliche, "Real beauty is not what you see on the outside, but it is what's inside that counts!"

I do not have a banana farm. But my next-door neighbor has. (I think she also has other fruits and plant produce.) Oooh! I'm so blessed! Last year, we just moved in to this new townhouse complex near the children's school. Naturally, most of our neighbors have students studying in the same school. My next-door neighbor, E, has a boy the same age and grade level as my boy! They usually play together and cause troubles together :) When I make the children's snacks, I usually make some too, for E's kids. (She is usually at work when her kids come home from school.) Whenever they have banana harvests, they usually share their bounty with us. Thank you, E!

I also reciprocate by baking her some goodies from the bananas she gave me. This time, I made Banana Crumble.



For the bananas:

1 bunch plantain bananas (around 16- 18 large pieces), sliced
1 C sugar
1 C water

1. Boil water and sugar together in a pot.

2. When the mixture boils, add in the sliced bananas. Boil and simmer until bananas are tender, around 15 minutes.

3. Arrange in a baking pan. (I used a disposable foil pan as I intend to give this as a gift.)




For the crumble:

1 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C quick-cooking oats
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C butter, softened
sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl, mix together flour, oats, sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. With a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the softened butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Top over the prepared bananas.

3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven or until top is lightly browned.

4. Serve warm, topped with ice cream if preferred.






But in my case, I put the nicely golden dessert in a pretty box and sent it immediately to my next-door neighbor...



... and virtually sending this to the First Anniversary edition of Grow Your Own. Please check out Andrea's site after the end of the month for the round-up. To see the previous round-up, please check out the fun read Finny Knits.

Pork in Watermelon and Tamarind Soup (Sinigang na Baboy sa Pakwan)

What kind of Kitchen CEO are you? Do you...

(1) Plan your meal for the week ahead, balance all the needed carbohydrates, protein, minerals and vitamins of all the dishes you plan to cook, vary the type of cooking you are going to do (i.e. one day stir-fry, baking the next, stewing the following day...); buy the ingredients needed for those dishes and cook accordingly?

or do you...

(2) Just go out to the markets and/or supermarkets and check out the produce, which looks good and fresh, buy them and only after that do you think of what dishes to cook with those ingredients you bought?


I confess, I am a number (2). Which is a big no-no for organizing people like my Hubby. He is not happy when I cook a dish with one (or two) ingredients are missing. For me, it does not matter as long as the overall taste is not affected. And sometimes, using substitutions with other ingredients I have on hand turned out to be a surprise. (The dish featured today, for example.) He is not happy when I suddenly disappear from the house, just to run to the nearest neighborhood grocery to buy a little of this or that. This one, I concede is not practical anymore now. A major disadvantage of this non-organization is of course, the time consumed thinking of what dishes I will cook... :) I do not like ingredients to go to waste, so I really have to cook them all...

I bought a huge watermelon from a big supermarket chain. It was labeled "seedless." Of course I prefer to buy seedless because it is easier to feed children the seedless fruits, and it is less messy too. I am willing to pay a little bit more just to encourage my kids to eat more fruits. Imagine my dismay when I cut open the fruit and found lots of seeds inside! Grrr...

Hubby and I consumed almost half of it. What to do with the other half? I remember there was a recipe is the Food Magazine, Philippine edition, many years ago about Sinigang sa Pakwan and I really wanted to try it. This left-over "seed-full" watermelon is my chance. Usually the fruits in this household get consumed fast, specially cooling fruits like melons and watermelon. But this time I have a lot of watermelon left to try this recipe!

This recipe adapted from Food Magazine, published August 2006, pp 36 - 37. The Recipe was shared by Krip Yuson.

Some things I tweaked from the original recipe:

(1) The original recipe called for beef short-ribs with pork belly. I only used pork spareribs.
(2) The original recipe did not add water. Its juices must have purely come from the tomatoes and the watermelon. But I used my induction cooker, so I had to add water or the bottom of my pot will be burnt.
(3) I did not add okra or radish to my soup. For one thing, I did not have these on hand, and my kids does not like to eat them. But I don't think this made any changes in the taste.
(4) I added the taro roots early in my cooking because I prefer the taro roots mushy, and I can mash them into the soup to make a thicker soup consistency.


1 and 1/2 Kilos watermelon, peeled, seeded, cut into chunks
2 C sliced tomatoes, seeded
1 K pork spareribs, cut into chunks
2 pcs large taro roots (gabi), peeled, sliced
1 large onion, quartered
2 whole cloves of garlic, peeled
4 pcs finger chillies (siling haba)
1 bundle string beans (sitaw), cut into 2" long
1 bundle Swamp cabbage or water spinack (Kangkong), trimmed, washed
Salt or fish sauce (patis) to taste
200 gms tamarind, boiled, softened in 1 C water

1. Extract the tamarind juice by passing the water with boiled tamarind through a sieve and squeeze juices more out.

2. Blanch the pork spareribs in a pot of boiling water. This step is to remove the impurities.

3. In another clean pot, arrange the watermelon at the bottom. Then add in the tomatoes, taro roots, then the blanched spareribs. Add in the tamarind juice and around 10 cups of water. Cook over high heat until boiling, then simmer until meat is cooked and the watermelon are soft and mushy. This will take around 1 hour.

See the soup boiling furiously, deliciously and colorfully?
The veggies rose up while the meat sank down...

4. Start adding the vegetables starting with the finger chillies and the string beans. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are crisp tender.

5. Add in the onions and stems of the water spinach. After about 1 minute, add in the leaves of the water spinach.

6. Season with salt or preferably fish sauce to taste. Serve piping hot with lots of rice.



Hubby commented that we had two days of Tamarind soup - different flavors but still sour soup. He was not complaining. In fact, he enjoyed it. It was delicious! A little sweetish sour, delicately spiced. He was just saying that we tend to eat more rice with tasty/spicy dishes. And he wanted me to start dieting... :) Oh well, I just thought that having hot soup is good with the rainy weather we are experiencing right now.

I also want to use up whatever ingredients we have in the fridge. As I have said, I am a number two. Don't we all experience that feeling sometimes? We have some odd and ends in the fridge that need to be cooked, a little of this, a little of that. What I do is, I search for recipes that will use the ingredients I have on hand! Of course I do not want perfectly good food to go to waste, plus, I do not want to contribute anymore trash to our limited landfill. (Just a little effort to save Mother Earth.)

Other Sinigang recipes I have made:

Milkfish in Tamarind Soup (Sinigang na Bangus sa Sampalok)

Milkfish in Wild Mangosteen Soup (Sinigang na Bangus sa Santol)

Prawns in Tamarind Soup (Sinigang na Hipon sa Sampalok)

Pinoy Tom Yum Prawns (Thai inspired Sinigang na Hipon)




This hot and tasty soup is my entry this week to Bookmarked Recipes, a food event where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup. This delicious idea was concocted by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. To see last week's delicious round-ups, please click here.